Come Sing a Deeper Song

Does Your Business Need a Bigger Frame?

October 19, 2008 By Cara Lumen

I was holding my business back. I was staying comfortably within the framework I had designed. Sure, my business had grown from my original idea but my original idea wasn’t very big. And then someone handed me a larger frame and I had to think bigger….

I added a certification to my credentials – a certification that allows me to think bigger and play bigger. Actually, it demands that I do. And I m now fitting what I have been offering into the bigger business and expanding the service I offer.

I Started Out Too Small

I started from a very small place – both inside and outside. My web designer complained that her clients didn’t know what copy they wanted on their web pages and I said, "I can help with that." So I started positioning my business as a content developer – someone who helps focus services, clarifies navigation, and develops compelling copy for a web page. In the course of that I found myself continually coaching people in the foundational steps of marketing – helping them discover their target market, defining their benefits and features, creating tag lines, etc.

My next marketing step was to expand and offer the clients additional services. So I started coaching people in other marketing strategies and information product development.

And then it all changed. A new frame was offered and I jumped at it.

I’m now playing in a bigger vision – and it’s someone else’s. And oh, how that has made me grow!

You see, I’m now part of a bigger group and the founder of that group is really thinking big. And now I am too.

Thinking Big Widens Your Stance

What I was doing is now just a piece of what I now offer. You see, I’ve recently been certified by Michael Port to be one of his first Book Yourself Solid Coaches. And Michael is known for Thinking Big. So what happened is that all I was doing in the form of content and web development, and information product development is now a small piece of a coaching a system that helps people get booked solid. See how different that feels?

Expand Your Vision by Joining in Another’s Vision

My vision has been freed to expand because I am now a part of someone else’s bigger vision. Coaching the BYS system gives me a powerful method that has already been proven successful. I’m not saying you have to go out and get certified in anything. I am saying that you might want to consider looking around at the bigger players in your field and see how you might add to what you already offer. Place your business in a bigger frame.

My framework changed. I started thinking bigger.

My target market expanded. I raised my red velvet rope policy and upleveled the description of my ideal client

My web site got more focused. I was no longer promoting all the bits and pieces of the many things I do, it all came under one umbrella – the steps it takes to get yourself booked solid.

My pricing and packaging changed. I thought in terms of a 15 week program rather than the shorter segments I had been offering.

My branding changed. I could add credentials that identified me with a very large brand.

My expectations changed. I was coaching a system that was proven to bring success. I now expect even greater results with my clients.

My possibilities expanded. Having certified coaches is only part of Michael’s big vision but because I’m in on this next step, I have new opportunities I wouldn’t have had by myself. We’re offering online interactive coaching services that allows easy financial entry to the BYS program by adding levels of self-coaching, and e-mail coaching to 1:1 coaching. That opens up Michal’s work to everyone because the self-coaching can be done online very inexpensively. I will be able to serve people I couldn’t before.

My leveraged opportunities expanded. I want to train to teach the BYS program as a teleclass. I have the potential to expand into doing workshops with this work.

All of this is because I widened the framework that was holding my business.

What Else Can You Offer to Your Clients that Places You in a Larger Frame?

I had already been looking for how I could engage my clients longer. I looked at what services I could offer before they were ready for a web site. I looked for ways to continue helping them after they had received my web content development services. But it was the addition of this new skill set that exploded my vision into a new framework that took me way, way further than anything I had ever conceived of before.

Look outside the box. Look at what others are doing. See how what you are now offering fits into a bigger picture.

Vision from a larger framework and see what doors open. Think bigger, grow bigger be bigger. That’s what happens when you place your business in a bigger frame.

Is it Really Money you Want?

September 10, 2008 By Cara Lumen

by Cara Lumen

I’ve just finished going through my email and I’ve never felt so pushed and shoved in my life. All that hype about getting rich. This person made $100,000 in two weeks, that person became a bestselling author over night. And I stopped to think – is money all I really want?

No, In fact, money has never been a motivating factor for me – the joy of doing is.

How do you measure success?

For me success is about waking up every morning eager to get to my desk and work my business. It is about my creative Saturdays when I write for myself all day and maybe produce a product for my clients. It is the excitement that comes when I help a client breakthrough and create a new success. It is the joy of sharing ideas with my fellow entrepreneurs as we move our busyness forward.

Yeah, I want money. I want to feel valued and appreciated for what I do. But that’s not why I do it.

Up level your feelings of self-worth

As a metaphysician I believe we attract to us what we think. So how do I think about money in a way to attract it when I’m not very motivated by having money? It has everything to do with how I see myself. How much I value what I have to offer. I much I want to help others.

I need to stay in service and be certain I am continually helping others achieve their greatest success. I have to be willing to accept money when it comes, especially when someone offers to pay me more because they value what I have done… I have to value myself and my services enough to put a healthy price on them. Then I have to have the intention to attract clients and customers who love what I offer and can’t get enough of them. They also have the money to pay for it and willingly do so. That’s my ideal client.

And I have to keep producing services and products that express my values and my self-worth.

Raise your expectation

I recently filled out a questionnaire that asked me to name an income figure I would like for next year. I put in a wimpy amount because I couldn’t imagine a larger amount. I was all caught up in what I could see not what I could imagine. Why couldn’t I earn in the high six figures? The only person stopping me in my business is me – my attitude, my beliefs, my fears, my expectations.

The change begins with you

The success or failure of my business and my life resides solely on my own shoulders. It is in my actions, my choices, my interactions, my stubbornness, my generosity, my loner-ism or my outreach. My business is a reflection of who I am and how I see myself.

Write down the great things people say about you and start believing them. Get clear about where you can be in the deepest service. It’s going to be doing what you love to do because that’s what you are best at. Then go do more of it.

Money is a symbol, not the reward

If we were an ancient culture our wealth might be measured in horses or sheep. In others it may be the size of the roof over our head. In today’s world I personally have no concept of billions of dollars. I have to measure my success close up and personal.

A smile, a hug, a kind word? A well written article, a new idea for a workshop, an appreciative email from a client? A bill finally paid off, a new savings account opened? A trip to see family, a trip just because you can? A favorable earnings comparison with others, a new job title? How much you can give away? Who you can help?

They tell us in business to always find a way to measure your success so you know when you have achieved it. How do you measure your success? Is money really all you want?

Why You Are Worth More Than You Think You Are

August 25, 2008 By Cara Lumen

by Cara Lumen

It’s time to raise my prices. Why? Because I am worth more. I know more than I did a year ago. I have more experience than I did a year ago. I am more skilled in how I offer what I do.

So what’s stopping me?

Me.

It’s not about time

I have a web designer friend who sometimes says, "But it only took me an hour to do that." And I have to remind her to think what the value of her design is to her client. How many years it will be in place. How much income it will bring her. It’s not about how much time we take to do it, it’s about the value we give.

It’s not about money

Sure, there are people who spend time looking for the lowest price and pit vendor against vendor to save a few pennies. We have to let them be the judge of how best to use their time and resources. But each of us offers so much more than money and we must incorporate that added value in our pricing.

It is about the intangibles

You want to attract people who value you because they relate to you, because you understand their needs Look beyond the tangibles to place a value on the underpinning of the service you offer.

Reliable service has value

Never underestimate the value of offering reliable service. Only if you have wasted time waiting on someone to fulfill an order or create a project upon which others must act do you understand the full impact of reliable service.

If you get things completed when you say you will and if your back end system is efficient and fulfills orders on time, that is worth money to your customers and clients.

Understanding your clients’ market adds value

As you expand your own knowledge of your clients’ market base, you increase your value to them. Because of your knowledge of their competitors, your client will be miles ahead in their field. Think how that enriches the value of your offerings.

Strong project management adds value

Remember a time you had to work with someone who was disorganized? It was a mess. Things got lost, they didn’t get their work done and there was confusion even in the conversations you had. Huge amounts of time were wasted.

I’ve worked hard at my project management. I have a strong intake form that helps both my clients and me identify what is in place and what is missing that we need to develop. I developed a Coaching Call Prep Form that allows the client to report their weekly progress. It allows me to quickly tune in before a call to see where we left off and what we planned to do in the next call. I send them their weekly assignment right after each coaching call.

Strong project management keeps efficiency at a premium and saves both you and your client and money.

What your time is worth to satisfy your own financial objectives

This is not about anyone but you. What do YOU think you are worth? How does your financial math work out? How many hours do you need to spend with clients to meet your personal financial needs? How much time do you spend with marketing, with administration? How many hours are there that you want to work? How many do you not want to work? These are choices only you can make.

Do you just want to "get by?" Are you playing it "safe?" Or can you raise your vision and your expectations of what you would like to earn? Even if you are staying within your comfort zone at least move to the outer level and set your intention at least two steps beyond that. Growth is good. Higher expectations are good.

Giving wise counsel has more value than you can ever put a price on

My brain is worth more than my service. My brain things up fabulous ideas, it sees possibilities where others don’t, it recognizes the connection between one idea and another, it holds a vision of success for my clients.

What possible price can I put on that?

It is invaluable.

NEVER permit competitors, industry norms, or community norms to set YOUR prices.

Look at these intangibles. Give some thought to how much value they add beyond the time you spend with your clients. YOU decide what you are worth. Then find the kind of client or customer who has reason to accept your evaluation of that worth.

Follow Your Strengths to Success

July 15, 2008 By Cara Lumen

by Cara Lumen

There are seven marketing strategies I could use to promote my business Two I’m really, really good at, one I have the talent to be good at but I need to step up to the plate, The other four vary from medium to definitely less than medium and I feel a great resistance to pursue them.. My question is do I stay safe in the comfort zone of my strengths, do I push myself out of my comfort zone and broaden my spectrum, or do I bluff my way and do them all?

Let your strengths be your guide

There is a reason we tend to favor some activities over others, we love doing them and we are probably very good at them. I love to write, I love to teach and I’ve been doing them all my life. So I’m going to keep those at the core of what I am doing. Fortunately my strengths are in the most technical aspects of marketing: a strong Web Presence Strategy, a Writing Strategy that includes information products and a steady article writing campaign and Speaking and Demonstrating Strategywhich even with teleclasses, I’m not fully taking advantage of.
But what about the other four marketing strategies I could use to promote my business? They are the ones everyone should be able to do. They are the “easy” ones. And they are not yet my strong points.

Check out your second best strength and develop it

But hey, I’m into growth – both personal and business. So I really ought to just pick one and strengthen it. But they are all about reaching out to others. They are all about connecting and relating and talking to others. So in the midst of my discomfort over these strategies I have to find what I am willing to do; how can I adjust how I view them and find my own unique ways to get the results these strategies produce?

Align with your passion and purpose

I love what I do and I love sharing it with people. I write an emagazine and a blog. But those are one-way conversations from me to them. It’s not a two way exchange.

The Keep in Touch Strategy is one of the most important and effective of the seven strategies and would be within my comfort zone. I already know these people. This is just a matter of emailing a personal note, picking up the phone for a chat, or sending them a card. The point is to have an exchange, to reach out on a personal level and see how they are doing. I need to listen to what’s going on for them.

I’m going to schedule an hour a week to reach out and acknowledge someone I know. There now, that’s one strategy added.

Flex those muscles!

That leaves three strategies and I don’t have to do them all. But being aware of them helps me notice when I do them organically. I activate the Referral Strategy when I connect my client who makes home-made gourmet dog treats with a client who wrote a wonderful book about a dog. I activate the Networking Strategy when I volunteer to help people connect with potential roommates for an upcoming training we are taking together. And the Direct Outreach Strategy may just be as simple as reaching out to someone I admire to explore some joint ventures.

Follow Your Strengths

I’m not going to beat myself up for what I can’t do comfortably. I’m not just going to focus on the things I do easily either. I’m going to stretch a bit. I’m going to flex my muscles and look for my personalized version of a strategy that gets the results I want. I’m going to pick my moments and move gently into expansion. I’m going to follow my strengths to success.

Skills and talents are two different things. You can learn a skill like riding a bike, but it takes talent and passion to win a bicycle race.

Cherish your gifts.

When you look carefully you will see your talents. They are about what you love to do. They are what others always ask you to do for them. These are your strengths. Build them up. Bundle them creatively. Use them as your foundation.

Develop your own version

I’m a whiz at coaching. I’m a really good writer, but networking is not something I’m very comfortable with. So how can I create my version of networking that will be comfortable for me and still work? I’ve decided to start interviewing people for my podcast. That gives me a reason to call them and get to know them. That’s my version of networking and that will be fun.

Morph your fears into productivity

What business strategy do you need or want to put in place that is outside your comfort zone. Morph it. Tweak it, adapt it, and personalize it till it works, but don’t fret over it.

Build your own strategy

Go with your natural talent. Partner with or hire people with the natural talents you don’t have. 2+2 make a lot more than 4. Create your own version of the seven core marketing strategies. Nurture your natural abilities and follow your strengths to success.

Why You Should Start Hanging Out with People Who are Playing Bigger than You Are

July 8, 2008 By Cara Lumen

by Cara Lumen

I’m about to be stretched. I’m about to be asked to think bigger than I have been, to look at possibilities that I’ve never considered and to probably change my thinking. I’m going to start hanging out with people who are playing bigger than I am.

You can only take yourself so far

We need to surround ourselves with people who see our potential. From within our own lives our viewpoint of what is possible for us is limited by old beliefs and fears. But other people don’t see that, they don’t know what thoughts stop us, they only see our potential. We need to hang out with them so we can have a bigger view of what is possible for us.

I used to keep an acknowledgement book in which I wrote the nice things people said about me with the date it was said. When I started feeling dumpy about myself I’d read what was written. "Oh, they saw that in me? I didn’t know." Now I simply save the lovely emails and the amazing testimonials that people give me. But I still have to go read them periodically to reaffirm my own value.

Hanging out with the bigger players shows you how it’s done

Every time I have a conversation with someone about their services or the way they manage their business, I find some small nugget for myself that I can adapt or modify or just plain use.

I’m about to acquire another coaching certification and as I give thought to how I will work it into my current business I find my vision expanding. When I talked to another participant about how he structured his coaching practice I began to rethink mine. When I heard how much he charged I realized I was ready to reposition my fees and attract more clients who firmly believe that my coaching is well worth the money and are willing to spend it to grow their business.

And it’s scary

I’m in a funny place. At 75 when someone asks me what my five year plan is my answer is "To still be here!" But that’s a joke, because I’m building my business with all the intention of working it for another 30 years. But there is an energy about someone twenty or thirty years younger that I need to recapture.

That’s another reason to hang out with people who are playing bigger than I am. I need to create my version of my business in a way that honors who I am, what I know how to do, and how I want to live my life. And I need to watch what other people are doing for ideas.

So I have to overcome the fact that only 10% of women my age went to college (I went back for my MA at 40) and that women of my generation were only expected to grow up and be housewives.

I have to overcome the loss of confidence I discovered when I reentered the work force after fifteen years of raising children to find what I knew how to do had no value to others in the work place.

And I get to celebrate my blossoming as my creative, enthusiastic self and the fact that at long last I am deeply involved in what I love to do.

Now that I’ve made it to this point I get to do more.

So I’m going to go hang out with people who are doing their business well and see what I can learn from them. And while I’m at it I’ll keep an eye out on what I can teach them.

You see it’s not about who is better or worse, who is more than or less than, it’s a study in how beautifully different each of us are. I will engage in this training environment with a willingness to learn, an enthusiasm to share, and an expectation of both inner and outer expansion.

That’s why it’s important to periodically go hang out with people playing bigger than you are.